IIoT Applications: Team Management

In this series of posts, we consider the role of IIoT applications (Industrial Internet of Things) within a work environment. This post looks at the use of IIoT with Team Management Systems.

Team Management Systems

Mobile devices are an incredible phenomenon. The enduring apps and sites are those that exist to connect people with others or things that they care about. The BBC news app connects users with up to the minute news. LinkedIn connects professional contacts. Social apps connect friends together and allow the sharing of lives. Whatever the platform, users instantly connect with each other, app to app, mobile device to mobile device. ‘Always-on’notifications penetrate the user’s attention to ensure that they do not miss a thing. This is what IoT (Internet of Things) is about for consumers.

These words apply to IIoT technologies where, in an industrial environment, users are able to connect with otherwise disconnected information or people to fulfil work tasks.

There are two recent IIoT applications that support Team Management that BitBox has developed discussed in this post. The first, a lighting control system, has Team Management built in to support the primary function. However, the second relies on the sharing of machine data to coordinate team work tasks.

Lighting the Way

LED-based Emergency Lighting Systems are increasing in use. This is not just because of the impressive speed at which a return on investment is made. Internet technologies ensure that much of the communication is machine to machine (M2M), making it automatic and instantaneous. Local control systems receive data from connected sensors on lighting conditions, motion sensors or from the control centre. Consequently, they respond with appropriate lighting.

For example, hallway lighting increases as natural daylight diminishes because of changes in weather conditions. Or as residents return home during night time hours they trigger infra red sensors. This alerts the system to better illuminate their route and provide safe access. Lights then revert to a low level to a) keep the route lit and b) conserve energy. The local control system also has self-diagnostic tools which allow it to monitor the health of equipment and, in the event of an issue, notify the control centre.

With systems designed and manufactured by BitBox, automated processes review issues and provide work tasks to local teams with diagnostic reports.

In the event of an issue requiring a more specialist response, the system is able to request an appropriately skilled maintenance technician to arrive at the correct local control system with the right tools. This approach allows teams to operate more efficiently, reducing down time, improving response times and ensuring that residents have a safe place to live.

Right on Cue

Televised entertainment shows are like well-choreographed dance routines. Presenters look at you as they speak, action happens as the camera sweeps along and shots change in time with the music. To make all this happen on cue takes a lot of planning and practice. Cue CuePilot. The CuePilot product is a multi-platform, multi user studio server that helps broadcasters plan and deliver complex live events.

In contrast with most of BitBox’s industrial devices, CuePilot relies on LTC timecode – a broadcast industry standard mechanism to track time, to plot actions. CuePilot shares time-tracked actions with users’ devices. For example, a camera operator will access CuePilot on a mobile device to see that their next task is, for example, a head and shoulders shot of the presenter. The information sent also notes that this follows a wide shot of the end of the previous routine. The vision switcher operator will see the same information but have the instruction to cut from one camera to another. This Team Management system has been used in programming for CuePilot’s home country of Denmark and in the world’s most watched entertainment show, the Eurovision Song Contest. With 200 million viewers worldwide, the expectations on CuePilot are immense.

BitBox is proud to have delivered a solution that is more than up for the demands of such an event. Read the CuePilot case study.

Summary

At the core of many IIoT applications is the ability to take information from one location and reliably transmit it somewhere else to achieve a goal. This information might be from a machine (the timecode generator or a daylight sensor) or from a human (a camera operator or a maintenance technician), but together they ensure that the output meets the expectations of the consumers (the viewers, the residents).

Business Benefits of IIoT Applications

Applying IIoT technologies within many environments is already bringing benefits to organisations.

For the provider of the lighting control system, having the right team in the right place at the right time, with the right knowledge and tools, they are able to deliver a more efficient and effective service. Instead of maintenance engineers being sent ill-equipped, they are fully aware of the tasks at hand and able to resolve issues first time. This approach reduces down time and provides consumers with a better service. It is no surprise that the company behind the lighting system is growing.

CuePilot’s users are able to broadcast programmes such as the Eurovision Song Contest perfectly, because of the team management features. As a result, viewers immerse themselves in the audio visual experience. At a granular level, the benefit of a system that better manages a broadcast team is the successful delivery of a live event. A successful orchestration of such a prolific event raises the production company’s profile and helps it achieve greater commercial success.

As IIoT grows in awareness and application, we will continue to develop our understanding of where its value lies. Team management is just one way in which IIoT principles and technologies are benefiting businesses. Read about the benefits with Predictive Maintenance Systems.